MATH 214 Discrete Mathematical Modeling with Biological Applications

This course provides an introduction to a variety of mathematical topics used in analyzing problems arising in the biological sciences, without using calculus.  The mathematics covered in this course all revolve around modeling dynamic biological phenomenon using discrete time steps. Specifically, we will construct and analyze discrete difference equation models, matrix models, and Boolean models.  Some of the biological applications we will explore include modeling the population sizes of various species over time, describing how the concentration of a drug in the body changes over time, modeling the process of ecological succession, modeling the frequency of an allele in a population over generations, and modeling metabolic pathways. In the lab assignments for this course students will learn the fundamentals of programming using the software package Matlab as a means of implementing and analyzing the mathematical models constructed throughout the course. Students are not expected to have prior exposure to computer programming before taking this course.